# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 58
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1142 "2024-04-23T18:57:12Z")
The poll specified head of a sovereign state and linked to Wikipedia, where it is defined as (bolding mine): > [International law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law) defines sovereign [states](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(polity)) as having a permanent population, defined territory, **a [government](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government) not under another** US state governments are under the federal government, so a US state is not a sovereign state, so it seems pretty clear to me that the governor of a US state does not count. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1143 "2024-04-23T19:05:07Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > The poll specified head of a sovereign state and linked to Wikipedia, It said “the head of state **or** head of government of a [sovereign state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state)” (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1144 "2024-04-23T19:14:06Z")
Which I would take as “(the head of state or head of government) of a [sovereign state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state).” I.e. the “of a sovereign state” clause applies to both. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1145 "2024-04-23T19:16:29Z")
Having done no particularly deep study of the matter, I always thought more than one Sasquatch was a “bunch.” I have no opinion on the inherited bourbons. But enjoy! I’m a dude and I _love_ the Three Stooges. I say “Soitenly!” at least once a week, and “Quiet, you!” a bit less often. I’ve met only one head of state [while he was in office](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=582317). Also Bill Clinton (once before and once after his White House years); U.S. Sens. John Kerry, Sherrod Brown, Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, Paul Simon and Al Gore; Members of Congress Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Dick Gephardt, Doug Applegate, Shontel Brown, Marcia Fudge and Marcy Kaptur; and Gov. Mike Dukakis and two governors of Ohio, Dick Celeste and Ted Strickland. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1146 "2024-04-23T20:19:42Z")
Does the Pope count? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1147 "2024-04-23T20:42:22Z")
I met a Pope and got a personal blessing from him. When I was a small child I shook JFKs hand, while he was running for President. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1148 "2024-04-23T21:13:11Z")
The Pope is the head of state of Vatican City, which is a sovereign state, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1149 "2024-04-23T21:23:41Z")
I met the governor but that doesn’t count. I’ve been part of the security detail for the president 3 times. Twice for Obama and once for Bush. I saw Obama get off of the helicopter once and the other times I just saw the motorcade. During the Bush detail someone threw a shoe at him but that was after my part was done. I haven’t been any closer to a head of state. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1150 "2024-04-23T21:29:05Z")
Wait, so Governors count, or they don’t? If they count, then multiple times in person. I didn’t count this, but we were in a hotel meeting ballroom in Santiago when a crowd of beefy men appeared in the conference area lobby, and then Michelle Bachelet (Chilean President at the time) and her entourage swept into the room next to ours to give a speech. I thought that was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1151 "2024-04-23T22:26:11Z")
I met Bush the Elder while he was still vice president, and after he left office(Babs too); Bush the Younger while he was still governor, and Biden while he was a senator. Decent conversations with each of the Bushes on a few occasions(I met Millie once!). The only time I saw Biden was while he was a Senator, and he was just another guy on a commuter train that I thought looked familiar(I didn’t live in Delaware), and asked if he was _that_ guy before I got off at my stop. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1152 "2024-04-23T23:36:16Z")
My husband and I met the Governor of the Virgin Islands while on our honeymoon. We had gotten lost on St Croix and couldn’t find our way back to our hotel. While circling Christiansted for the third time, we stopped a man to ask for directions. He told us to pull over for a moment and he’d be right back. We pulled over and waited while he went over and chatted with the police. A moment later he came back, told us that the policeman would escort us back to our hotel, “And by the way, I’m the Governor.” We smiled, thought “sure you are”, shook his hand, and followed to cops all the way back to our place on the other side of the island. When we got back I looked him up and damned if it wasn’t really the Governor! Hizzoner Albert Bryan, Jr of USVI. It may not count but it’s still a cool story. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1153 "2024-04-24T00:49:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Does the Pope count? Oh, I’ve been within sight and hearing of a Pope. Long time ago. He was speaking in Italian, though, so I don’t know what he said. (He was making what was apparently a routine occasional speech from a balcony overlooking a big square full of people. My mother and I happened to be in town and went, mostly just because we were there.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1154 "2024-04-24T11:39:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I met a Pope and got a personal blessing from him. Plot Twist: a sneeze was involved. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1155 "2024-04-24T13:34:37Z")
If I had written the “wear a suit” poll, I would have made “never” and “almost never” separate options. Some of us (including myself) own one or more suits that we could and would wear if the occasion warranted, but such occasions arise less often than “a few times a year.” Others don’t own a suit (at least, one that still fits) and/or are temperamentally opposed to wearing one. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1156 "2024-04-24T13:41:40Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I would have made “never” and “almost never” separate options. Agree. Five or so years ago I threw out my two suits. I do not own a suit, nor do I plan to ever buy a suit. It has worked well for me so far. My son was married on the beach in Florida, so I had no need for a suit. My daughter eloped and got married during COVID, no suit needed for that either. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1157 "2024-04-24T13:54:28Z")
The only suit I own is a “wedding and funeral” suit that, fortunately, I haven’t had to use in a couple of years. I do occasionally wear a blazer or sports jacket to church on Christmas and Easter and whenever the weather is cold enough for it, which amounts to maybe five Sundays per year. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1158 "2024-04-24T14:20:53Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > The only suit I own is a “wedding and funeral” suit that, fortunately, I haven’t had to use in a couple of years. That’s called a _Marry 'em & Bury 'em_ suit. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1159 "2024-04-24T14:26:57Z")
The dress I wear most often is what’s known as a hiking dress. It’s definitely a dress, but it’s not dressy. Even REI sells them. [https://www.rei.com/c/hiking-skirts-and-dresses](https://www.rei.com/c/hiking-skirts-and-dresses) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1160 "2024-04-24T14:35:05Z")
Couldn’t vote on the asparagus poll because I never eat the stuff (if I can avoid it). ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/1161 "2024-04-24T14:56:40Z")
I took advantage of a Men’s Wearhouse two-fer deal back in the mid aughts or so. I’ve worn them to a handful of family weddings and some job interviews when I was unemployed. I still own both suits, but I don’t think I’ve worn either of them in at least a decade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=59)